NHRC Issues Recommendation to MOGAHA to Amend Related Laws and Daegu Metropolitan City to Prevent Recurrence
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued recommendations to the Minister of Government Administration and Home Affairs and to the Daegu Metropolitan City Jun-gu District Office Head with regard to the May 2003 complaint filed against the head of the Jun-gu District Office by grade-5 public official Byeon, 46, charging that assignment transfer to another region without one’s consent was not only illegal, but also violated his constitutional right to pursuit of happiness (article 10) and occupational freedom (article 15). To the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs (MOGAHA), the Commission recommended either amendment of the Local Public Officials Act, which lies in the ministry’s jurisdiction, toward clarifying article 29-3 and article 30-2, as well as the Directive on Appointment of Local Public Officials article 27-5 so as to eliminate the scope for disparate interpretations, or MOGAHA issuance, to each local government administration, of a written directive that clearly explicates the MOGAHA criteria for matching a person’s qualifications to his or her job assignment as well as the undertaking of measures to prevent recurrence of human rights violations as the one charged by Byeon. To the head of the Jun-gu District Office of Daegu Metropolitan City, the Commission recommended that measures be undertaken to prevent recurrence of such behavior violating human rights.
The NHRC investigation of the materials relating to the petitioner and the respondent’s claims found that the district office head did obtain the consent of the head of local government for Byeon’s assignment transfer. However, appointment of public officials to a given position is based on the mutual agreement of both parties, on the administrative side and the party being appointed. As such, because the district office head failed to get one party’s—Byeon’s—consent, transferring Byeon to a different assignment did constitute an infringement of Byeon’s freedom of selecting his occupation since it would force Byeon to leave the occupation he had selected.
